KEANE "ANNOYED" BY CONTRACT OFFER: Keane admitted his unhappiness with the first new contract offer he received from Manchester United. He said: "I was a bit annoyed with the first offer put to me. Deep down they must have known it wasn't something I could sign. Our dealings have to be realistic. I am not naive enough to settle for anything less than a reasonable valuation of my worth."

2000

KEANE FURIOUS WITH LETTER TO FANS: Keane branded United's decision to blame his £52,000-a-week wages for a hike in season ticket prices as "a stupid mistake". The club sent a letter to fans claiming that one of the reasons for the ticket increases was Keane's wage rise. "I'm not one for holding grudges but this was a stupid mistake, a bad public relations exercise and something that should never have happened. I'm still waiting for my apology but I could be waiting a long time."

THE PRAWN SANDWICH AFFAIR: Keane hit out at sections of Manchester United's support for what he felt was a poor atmosphere during a Champions League clash with Dynamo Kiev. He said: "Sometimes you wonder, do they understand the game of football? Away from home our fans are fantastic, I'd call them the hardcore fans. But at home they have a few drinks and probably the prawn sandwiches, and they don't realise what's going on out on the pitch. I don't think some of the people who come to Old Trafford can spell football, never mind understand it."

2001

SIGNS OF THINGS TO COME: Keane hinted he might quit the international stage if Republic of Ireland officials continue to treat the squad like second-class citizens. "Where we trained last Monday, in Clonshaugh, was abysmal and it has been for as long as I've known it," he said. "I was fairly critical about our seating arrangements on the flight out here, when the officials were sitting in the first-class seats and the players were sitting behind."

UNITED ARE "NOT GOOD ENOUGH": Keane claimed it may be time to break up the Manchester United team in the wake of a Champions League exit against Bayern Munich. United lost 2-1 in the Olympic Stadium to complete a 3-1 aggregate defeat in the quarter-finals and Keane said: "The players gave it their all tonight but we are just not good enough and maybe it's time to move on. Maybe it's the end of the road for this team."

PLAYERS ARE "PIECES OF MEAT": Keane voiced his anger what he believed was poor treatment of players by clubs. Referring to the shock £16.5million transfer of team-mate Jaap Stam to Lazio, Keane said: "Contracts mean nothing. He (Stam) has discovered that, to football clubs, players are just expensive pieces of meat. The harsh realities remain and when a club decide they want to sell there is little you can do once the wheels are in motion."

2002

UNITED BLOW IT AGAIN: Following another Champions League exit, this time at the semi-final stage to Bayer Leverkusen, Keane was again brutally honest, saying: "We blew it. This club deserves to win European Cup finals and we blew it. It's as simple as that. We had a great opportunity and these sort of chances don't come along very often."

PLAYERS LACK DESIRE: Keane questioned the desire of some of his team-mates and warned - prophetically as it turned out - the Red Devils could end the season without a trophy. Keane said: "There are a lot of cover-ups sometimes and players need to stand up and be counted. I'm not sure that happens a lot at this club. That's the least we should do. We shouldn't have to demand it from the players - they should be proud to play and give 100%. We're not asking for miracles."

THROWN OUT OF WORLD CUP: An exasperated Keane announced he would quit international football after the World Cup as he expressed his dissatisfaction with the Republic's preparations. But when clear-the-air talks with Mick McCarthy descended into a "slanging match", the Republic boss promptly sent his best player home. "You've seen the training pitch and I'm not being a prima donna. Training pitch, travel arrangements, getting through the airport when we were leaving, it's the combination of things. I would never say `that's the reason or this is the reason', but enough is enough."

2004

YOUNGSTERS 'SLACKING': As United lost their grip on the Barclaycard Premiership title, Keane rounded on unidentified younger players, accusing them of not pulling their weight. "We have one or two young players who have done very little in the game," he said. "They need to remember that and not slacken off. They need to remember just how lucky we all are to play for Manchester United and show that out on the pitch."

2005

NOT A HOLIDAY CAMP: Keane was reportedly angered that players were allowed to take their families to United's pre-season training camp in Portugal having cut short a holiday to attend. Boss Sir Alex Ferguson the pair had rowed but insisted his absence from the Far East tour was due to injury, not disciplinary reasons.